Title: What's Your Name
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Ten.5
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: doctorwho_100
Prompt: 86, Choices
Author's Note: The human version of the Doctor is being referred to as John Smith in this fic, since it's the Doctor's human alias and his clone needed a name.
Author's Note: Spoilers for Journey's End, somewhat. This is an completely alternate take on the ending of Season Four.
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor, or his human clone. Please do not sue.

***

"I want to change my name," the Doctor's human clone announced, looking across the console at the Time Lord. "I don't feel right calling myself John Smith. After all, that's your alias. You might need to use it again."

"I have other aliases I can use," the Doctor told him, straightening up from the console with a frown. "Are you sure you want to change your name, John? You've been using this one for months now -- haven't you gotten used to thinking of yourself as John Smith?"

"Actually, no," John admitted, shaking his head. "I always think of you as John Smith. Well, not always," he said, sounding a little confused. "I mean .... you know what I mean. I think of that as being a name you use."

"Well, if you're sure that you want to change your name, then it doesn't bother me," the Doctor told him. "I'm used to thinking of you as John, but if you're not comfortable with that name, then you're certainly free to choose one you'd prefer."

"Is it horribly vain to change my name?" the other man asked, sounding hesitant. "I don't want you to think I'm being silly about it."

"Of course it's not," the Doctor said softly, coming to the other side of the console and wrapping his arms around his lover from behind. "Your name is part of what defines who you are. It's part of your identity. You should have a name you feel comfortable with."

"It's not that I don't like the name you chose for yourself," the human Doctor told him with a sigh. "But it's .... it's your choice. I just took the name because I couldn't think of anything else at the time. But I'm more settled now."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to change your name," the Doctor asserted, turning the other man around in his arms to face him. "Besides, not many people are given that choice, unless they pay to have it done legally."

"I suppose that's one thing I can be grateful for," the other man said, managing a rueful laugh. "I'm not bound by the laws of human society. So I can choose my own name without having to worry about all the legal aspects tied to it."

The Doctor couldn't help but wonder if this was a spur of the moment decision, and if John -- no, he had to stop thinking of him by that name, he told himself -- was really serious about it.

After all, he could choose any name he wanted and have it accepted as his name. It would be his identity from here on out; there wasn't really anyone who knew him by the Doctor's alias, but his new name would become a part of him.

Names were important, the Doctor told himself with an inward sigh. They were a part of who you were, a part of yourself that you could never quite let go of. Which was probably why he'd revealed his own name to so few people. He simply didn't want to let anyone get that close.

The man in his arms knew it, of course. He wasn't going to keep his name from his lover -- and anyway, the name was in his memory, along with all of the Doctor's other past experiences and memories. But it couldn't be his name. He wasn't the Doctor.

"There are so many choices out there for you as far as names go," the Doctor mused, raising a brow in question. "How long have you thought about this? Do you realise just how many different names there are for you to choose from?"

"Millions upon millions!" the other man told him with a smile. "Though I wanted to choose a human name -- after all, I am human."

"What did you want to change it to?" the Doctor asked, his curiosity piqued. "Did you already have something in mind?" He couldn't imagine what name his lover would choose, but he was interested to know just what the origins would be.

"Jamie," his human self said immediately. "I've always liked that name -- and no, it's not because of Jamie McCrimmon," he added hastily, shaking his head. "I know you use his name as an alias once in a while, and I can assure you it's nothing to do with him."

"He was very special to me," the Doctor murmured, his arms tightening momentarily around his human clone. "Jamie was a good friend -- and a marvelous companion. I don't have a problem with you taking that name at all, love."

"Are you sure?" the other man asked anxiously, his dark eyes searching the Doctor's face. "If it bothers you for me to have his name, I don't have to. There are so many choices for me. But I .... I like this name. It seems to suit me, for some reason."

"Yes, it does, sweetheart," the Doctor said softly, nodding. "Jamie it is, then. I don't think it'll be hard for me to think of you with that name."

"It wouldn't make a bit of sense for me to have a name that belonged to some other race on a distant planet," Jamie told him, frowning a bit. "I thought I should choose a human name, and that one seemed to leap out at me. It just .... felt right."

"Do you know what you want your last name to be?" the Doctor asked, wondering what his lover would choose for a surname. Those were a bit trickier, or so it seemed to him. He'd known quite a lot of people who's surnames didn't seem to suit them.

Of course, he'd known a lot of people whose names seemed all wrong for who they were, though he'd never told them that. He'd always kept his thoughts about names to himself, especially since he was so reluctant to tell people his own actual name.

For him, it had always been enough to be known as the Doctor. His actual name was something he'd rather keep as his own secret -- though there were a few people in the galaxy who knew it. And they had kept it a secret as well, respecting his wishes.

Jamie shook his head at the doctor's question, heaving a sigh. "No, I hadn't decided on that yet. I don't need both of them now, do I?"

"Of course not," the Doctor assured him, pushing away the memories of Jamie McCrimmon that had come to his mind. Good memories, all of them -- and it seemed fitting, in a way, that one of his most treasured companions would be remembered every time he spoke the name of the man he loved.

"Then I'll wait a while to find a last name," Jamie told him, sounding relieved. "Or I could always use Smith." He laughed softly, tilting his head to the side. "What do you think of that? It actually sounds good to me."

"Jamie Smith." The Doctor said the name in a soft voice, repeating it a bit more loudly. "Jamie Smith. I like it. And --" A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as a thought occurred to him. "With that name and my alias, it's a bit like we're married, isn't it?"

"You know, I think it just might be." Jamie laughed, his arms tightening around the Doctor's slender waist. "So, are you going to carry me over the threshold?" he teased, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the Time Lord's.

"We're not married .... yet," the Doctor answered, laughing as he pulled away slightly and took Jamie's hands in his. Jamie willingly followed him, smiling as they moved out of the control room and down the corridor that he knew would lead them to their bedroom.

***